JOHN BUHMILLER'S 416 RIGBY - BREVEX MAUSER - MY LATEST FIND

(I've brought this over from another forum in hopes that some of you may be able to supply some information about John Buhmiller.)



Hello All,

Lately I've developed an interest in Big Bore Dangerous Game Rifles, especially those built on Brevex Mauser actions.

Here is my latest addition - A 416 Rigby by J.R. Buhmiller. John Buhmiller may be a new name to some of you younger folks, but for those of you (and me) who are over the age of 60, well, we knew him as a man of no equal.

He was a Barrel Maker extraordinaire'.

Here is a link that gives a little more background about John Buhmiller.

John Bumiller Info

Getting back to my "new find", I first saw this rifle advertised on Guns America. Unfortunately I missed it, and it got sold to someone else. It was kind of a sleeper because although Buhmiller was listed as the barrel maker, it was not described as a "Brevex" Mauser. (I search regularly for Brevex) and by the time I saw the listing - it was gone - SOLD.

But, within a month it was listed again, this time as a "Brevex", unfortunately, with a higher price tag. Buhmiller was again listed as the barrel maker, and with the Brevex I.D. added - well, I was hooked and the rifle soon had a new home here in Wisconsin. I didn't mind giving a profit to the re-seller, I just wish I had been the first in line. Having said that, I'm still thrilled to own it because I believe this was one of John Buhmiller's personal rifles.

Here's how it looked when I got it. I soon added the scope.



Here are a couple I articles I found about John Buhmiller and the 416 Rigby. The first is a small quote from an article John wrote about his Muzzle Brakes.



This is a quote from an article written by Elmer Keith.



This one is from an article in Guns Magazine - telling how John swore-off using the Brevex action.



The rifle is a joy to shoot! And shoot it does. Here is a 200yd target that I shot last week. Pretty impressive for a Big Bore. And the Muzzle Brake works beyond belief. The rifle kicks about as much as a standard 308 hunting rifle. I have many guns with a muzzle brakes, but not a one has worked as well as this one.


I really think this was John Buhmiller's personal rifle for a few reasons. No real proof as of yet, but lots of hints to that fact. First of all, this rifle's barrel is numbered to the action using the same stamps as John's Name and Caliber marking. Also, I have yet to find a complete Big Bore rifle that was built by John with one of his unique Muzzle Brakes installed. In fact, writings I've found indicate that although he made a lot of barrels, (over 40,000) he built very few complete rifles for other people.

I have also found references that state John's personal rifles were pretty crude; many even without finish, left in the white with rust. He considered them a "tool" rather than a piece of beauty. Examining several photos that I have found, I find rifles showing similar stocks to this one, being "ugly" and unfinished looking. This one even has the action box and floorplate sticking out the bottom.



Another interesting feature of this rifle is the Follower. It is etched with the caliber "416 Rigby". This would seem to indicate that the owner had more than one Brevex Mauser and was concerned enough to mark the follower so as to not mix it up with other followers. Or perhaps the owner was experimenting with different barrles/calibers - again, not wanting to mix followers which would result in feeding problems in the field. Something you surely don't want with a Dangerous Game Rifle.

[img]http://www.buckstix.com/buckpics/jrb8.jpg[/img]

And last, here is what I found etched on the bottom of the Follower under the spring:

JR BUHMILLER
1400 S WOODLAND DR
KALISPELL, MT
USA

I doubt that anyone other than John, would put this name and address on this rifle's follower.

[img]http://www.buckstix.com/buckpics/jrb9.jpg[/img]

I've been searching long and hard to find pictures of John with various rifles. Many of the photos I have found are from newspaper stories and are not very clear. I would ask that if any of you find photos that show John with a rifle, please drop me a note.

Any additional information you could share about John Buhmiller would also be appreciated. I intend to compile a web page with all the information I can find - so as to preserve this mans fading legacy.

Nice Rifle ,congrats on your buy!!!!

Neat stuff there!

Very nice!

buckstix-
The following may or may not be new to you.

Buhmiller wrote a couple of articles for Handloader in issues #1 and #13. The former includes a photo of Buhmiller holding a bullpup target rifle which he used in 1000-yard target competition. The latter article was devoted to the 458 WM, but describes s some interesting bullet experiments.

Bob Bell, who apparently knew Buhmiller well, wrote an informative short biography in Precision Shooting of February 2011. The article includes a photo of Buhlmiller with a rifle and an ex-buffalo.

Your plans for building a web site to preserve Buhmiller's legacy are laudable, but the problem with web sites is that they disappear when somebody stops paying the rent for server space and band width.
--Bob

Hello BullShooter,

Thank you for the reply. I have not seen these Handloader articles - so - I just bought Handloader Magazine #1 thru #14 & 16 on ebay so that I might have the info.

Its interesting about your mentioning the bullpup. I believe John is credited with coining the phrase "BullPup". Back in the 1980s, I also built a BullPup, and used it for competition including a 600 yd match, which I won. (see 1988 Gun Digest - "Big Bore BullPup")




I do have a copy of the Precision Shooting Artile; and it will be used as one of my references.

I know what you mean about web pages and their hosting costs. I hope to be able to set things up to fund mine web pages for many years to come, even after I'm gone.

Here are a couple of my web pages. The first one is about William (Bill) Staege, another once famous gunsmith that has faded into history. The second is about Ed Yost, who was inspired by Bill, and was a brilliant self taught gun designer/builder. They have both faded in History.

http://yostaction.com/staege.html

http://yostaction.com/yosthistory.html

We moved to Montana when John Buhmiller was still making barrels. One evening my Dad, Mom and I went over to the Buhmillers for supper and then we got a shop tour. I think I was 12 or 13, not really into guns at that time, and don't remember the details that well.
He had this metal target of an Indian head made with bullet holes, I thought that was pretty cool. John also had his shop booby-trapped -- he asked me to get something on the bench and I hit the trip wire. BANG! Good jolt for me, he just laughed.
But I do remember that there wasn't much "flash" to John. He was focused on the internals, making things work. He showed us the guns he'd used to kill the animals in the pictures or on the wall and they weren't showpieces -- kids were allowed to touch.

Hi, I have a rifle with a Buhmiller barrel. It's a 22-250 built on a 1917 action. It's very accurate.

" John Buhmiller may be a new name to some of you younger folks,..."

You are dating me back to my teenage years!!! I was enthralled by John Buhmiller and his rifles. great find!!!!

Very interesting stuff. Thanks for sharing it with us.

Sort of off-topic, but I was amused by Elmer Keith's having to stuff his left ear with cleaning patches to mitigate the effects of muzzle blast. I'd have thought his ears were long-since permanently numb. I can recall, in one of his books, his mentioning that the test-shooters at S&W "..must have cast-iron eardrums..."

Is there any way to tell a Buhmiller rifle from a rifle with a Buhmiller barrel?

I would be interested to know if anyone else has a Buhmiller rifle with one of his muzzle brakes and could share pictures?

Hello hanco,

I'm not really sure. Only the evidence I've highlighted would suggest that this rifle was one of John's personal rifles.

Buckstix,
I remember reading about your bullpup in "88", and always wanted to find one. I recently came into one with a 1903 springfield 06 in it. It looks like a commercial stock. Did you ever hear of a stock maker building these for the general public? (Richards Microfit, Reinhart Fajen, ect?)

Hello aamary,

Both Fajen and Bishop offered 95% finished stocks in "semi-bullpup" configuration. I do not know of anyone that offered a "full" bullpup stock.

Thanks Buckstix,
I have been trying to find any info on this bullpup stock and I think this will help.

Hello aamarv,

That's not a Reinhart or Fajen stock. I spent a lot of hours looking over the offerings from both those companies back in 88, and neither had such a style.

I would guess it was hand made by an individual.

If you search ebay, you should be able to find catalogs by both Reinhart and Fajen from back in the 80's. They pictured their semi-bullpups with different options.

Thank you for the information. I just got a 1988 Gun Digest, love your article and your bullpup.

Great info. thanks for sharing.. I have a couple articles on John, but have trouble locating stuff when I want it.. He was quite a fellow.. Great find.. Congrats,

Hello WyoCoyoteHunter,

Thanks for the reply. If you run across the articles on John, please let me know. I don't want to miss anything written by/about him.

Hello aamarv,

Thanks for the kind words. I still have my Bullpup, and the First Place medal I won in the 600yd match.

Probable John Buhmiller built rifle.
https://www.gunbroker.com/item/748925753

Great find on that rifle. Thanks for the photos and the follow up details on the history.

I just missed a Mauser John built for Bob Bell.
Sitting at a auction house waiting for the fund to start selling after the reloading stuff.

Inthe back of the room they started selling the rifles. Missed it!!!

It was a 338 WM. Still pizzed.

Bob wrote a Gun Digest article about John a few years ago. Bob also has the list of big game John shot. All in the Big Five. 250 total if I remember right.

Hello ismith,

Thanks for the reply.

Not likely built by John. He sold lots and lots of barrels, but built very few rifles.
.
.


Hello Bob_B257,

Thanks for the reply.

And thanks for the compliments.
.
.


Hello 257 X 50.

Thanks for the reply.

That would have been a nice one.

Hello Buckstix: hope you're still hanging around.

I caught a story elsewhere about J.R. Buhmiller having proposed a BullPup design to the Army about 1949, as the Allied Powers were meeting in the U.S. to decide how the Allies would solve the problem of non-uniform conformity in the military rounds used - many cases of one ally needing to use another's supplies; Brits using French, etc.

Supposedly John provided a handful of BullPup samples to the Army for testing, believing that a short, mobile weapon would be useful in jeeps and trucks, but the Army wasn't ready for soldiers shooting out of moving vehicles...

But the Allies were aware of the tests, and several in northern Europe took note and went home to develop their own concepts - May have taken John's weapons with them... So what is/was your Bullpup?

About 5 years ago Duane Wiebe built me a 6.5CM on a Mauser Kurz action. At the time we were having a hard time getting a barrel, due to long wait times.. Duane made a few calls and found a 6.5 Buhmiller barrel - he was thrilled. I did a little research to see what all the excitement was about. Needless to say the rifle is a tack driver.

Congratulations on your 416 Rigby.

HS/

You have the best stuff!!!
💪

There are a couple of articles in Guns Magazine in the 50-60s he wrote.
I could dig them out.

Bell and Buhmiller wrote quite a bit.

In Gun Digest…….Bob Bell wrote Buhmiller’s Big Boomers I think it was

I have a copy of all the articles that John wrote.